This invention relates to aircraft wing design, and more particularly to control of the trailing vortex at the wing tips of aircraft.
The vortex is a swirling mass of air created around the wing tips by the differences in pressure. In the prior art, the majority of the work done relating to vortex management relates to preventing its formation. The most efficient tip vortex devices can produce a maximum of 10% improvement in fuel efficiency.
When a turbulence is created then eliminated by some mechanical means, a large amount of energy is lost. It is an object of this invention to utilize the energy instead of wastefully trying to eliminate it.